On the occasion of the unveiling of a memorial plaque to commemorate the unjust internment of Ukrainian Canadians at the Petawawa Militia Camp in Ontario during World War I, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress wishes to highlight that on September 27, 1991 the House of Commons unanimously approved the following motion:

"Mr. Peter Milliken (Kingston and the Islands) moved:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should:

(1) acknowledge that the internment, disenfranchisement and related repressive measures taken against Canadians of Ukrainian origin between 1914 and 1920 were unwarranted and unjust and contrary to the principles now adopted and reflected in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

(2) instruct Parks Canada to erect historical markers at each of the 26 concentration camps where Ukrainians were interned and undertake the archaeological restoration of the Castle Mountain internment camp in Banff National Park with a permanent historical educational exhibit; and

(3) undertake negotiations with ... the Ukrainian Canadian Congress on the question of redress to the community.

[...]

Many Canadians are unaware of the plight of the Ukrainian Canadians who were interned during World War I. In fact, when the war broke out, the government said that Canadian Ukrainians who had emigrated to Canada from the western Ukrainian territories of Galacia and Bukovyna, both of which were then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were enemy aliens and they posed a threat to national security.

The government took the view that this threat required that these particular persons, who were in many cases Canadian citizens, ought to be interned and held in camps for the duration of the war. Accordingly, about 5,000 Ukrainian Canadians were in fact interned by the federal government in 26 camps that were located across Canada.

[...]

Approximately 88,000 others, most of them Ukrainian Canadians, were forced to report regularly to local polic and to internal security authorities ...

[...]

The internment went on for a considerable period, until 1920 in fact, but the internment was not the only problem that was faced by these citizens. In 1917, many members will recall that the government at the time passed the Wartime Elections Act which disenfranchised most Ukrainian Canadians as well as many others.

[...]

Those imprisoned had their property confiscated ...

[...]

Not until 1920 were the camps finally closed down. There was never any evidence presented in any public place that the Ukrainian Canadians posed a threat to national security. Indeed, the government never produced any evidence to that effect at all. In January 1915 the British foreign office informed the federal government that Ukrainian Canadians should be treated as friendly aliens. The government was told that many Ukrainians, like other nationalities within the Austro-Hungarian empire, were opposed to Austro-Hungarian rule and would not be sympathetic with Canada's enemy in the war.

[...]

I know that the government is sympathetic to the plight of these people, to the plight they suffered many years ago. I know that the government is considering moving on this issue. I urge the government to take the matter in hand, handle it with dispatch and seek to come to a satisfactory arrangement ...

[...]

As there is unanimity on this point I wonder if rather than drop the motion it could be carried by unanimous consent.

Motion agreed to."

The president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Eugene Czolij, stated that:

"In keeping with the will of Parliament, as expressed on September 27, 1991, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress is urging the Government of Canada to seek a timely and honourable resolution of the problem of the unjustified internment of Ukrainian Canadians during World War I and the loss of their freedoms."

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CONGRESS

- 30 -

October 14, 2000